Grain-car door for box cars



Aug. 14, 1928. 1,681,113

A. GILLINGHAM ET AL GRAIN CAR noon FOR BOX CARS Filed Sept. '7, 1927 INVENTORS E. BJORK AGILLINGHAM ATT RNI S Patented Aug. 14, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,681,113 PATENT) OFFICE.

ALFRED GILLINGHAM AND EDMUND BJORK, F REGINA BEACH, SASKATCHEWAN,

- I CANADA.

GRAIN-CAR .DOOR- FOR BOX CARS.

, Application filed September Our invention relates to improvements in grain car doors for box ears, and the object of the invention is to devise a grain door which will be grain tight and yet which will open easilywithout sticking and will open outward to permit the discharge of grain and will'swing inward when not in use so that it may be secured against the inner face of a car wall to enable the car being used for other purposes, and it consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as hereinafter more particularly ex plained.v i

Fig. 1 is a PGI'SPGCtlX'G view of a portion of a carshowing the door frame and our graindoor applied thereto and looking from the inside of the car.

Fig. 2is a similar view to Figure. 1 looking from the outside of the car. M

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective detail of the turnable mounting forthe hinge support of one of the door leaves and shown in the closed position. g

Fig. 4 is a similariview to Figure 3 showing the parts in the open position.

In the drawing like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

1 indicates the sill of a car, 2 and 3 the uprights of the door frame and 4 the top plate carried thereby. 5 is the sheeting forming the inside wall of a car body. 6 is a strip of metal extending around the corner formed by each upright 2 and 3 and the sheeting 5 connected thereto and provided centrally with a vertical concaved recess 7 into which the hinge member of the grain door fits as will hereinafter appear so as to make a grain tight joint. 1

8 and 9 are countersunk plates secured in the sill 1 and provided with cylindrical bosses 10, the upper face of which is cut at an incline from one side to the other as indicated at 11 and provided with a central orifice 12. It will be noted that the bosses 10 of the countersunk plates 8 and 9 are inclined in opposite directions, that is, down .ward towards the door.

centre of the orifices 12 of the bosses 10. 17 d and 18 are the leaves of the grain door which are provided with engaging rabbeted edges 19 and 20 fitting one within the other to form a grain tight joint. 21 and 22 are cylindrical hinge meinbersformed integral with the door leaves 17 and 18 and fitting the convened portions 7 ofthe metal strip 6 above referred to. p

The lower ends of the cylindrical hinge members 21 and 22 are out at an incline as indicated at 23 and 24 corresponding to the incline 11 of the bosses 10. Such lower ends are also provided with central depending pins 25 turnably fitting within the orifices 12. The cylindrical members 21 and 22 extend upward above the leaves 17 and 18 and turnably fit within the depending tubes 16.

It will be noted that the upper edges of the leaves 17 and 18 are slightly below the lower ends of the tube 16 and that therefore when the leaves 17 and 18 are swung inward they are raised from the sill so as to ride above the floor level to the open position thereby opening easily, and at the same time when they are swung in the opposite direction from the open position to the closed they are carried downward so that the lower edges of the leaves are carried into close bearing contact with the upper face of the sill 1 so as to form a grain tight joint.

26 are vertical slots extending through the strips 6 into the vertical members 2 and 3 of the door frame. 27 1s a plvoted locking bar swung upon a bolt 28 carried by the leaf 17. v

The ends of the bar 27 are bent outward indicated at 29 so as to extend around the hinge members 21 and 22 into the slots 26 when the bar 27 is swung to a horizontal position. When in this position the bar 27 fits in oppositely set cleats 80 and 31 carried respectively by the leaves 17 and 18 thereby firmly locking the upper portions of the door leaves in position.

A supplemental locking piece 32 is also employed pivoted at 32 so as to swing down at its lower end upon the upper edge of the ends 29 of the locking bar 27 and thereby prevent any danger of such locking bar riding up out of its locking position.

In order to firmly secure the lower portions of the door leaves 17 and 18 tightly together we provide supplemental locking pieces 33 and 34 which are pivotally mounted on each door leaf as indicated at 35 and 36, and when swung down in their locking position assume'a criss-cross position across the joint between the door leaves and fit at their lower ends in slots 37 and 38 formed in the sill 1.

The locking piece 84 is a straight piece and the locking piece 33 is bent as indicated at 33" so as to extend over the piece 3% and lit into the slot b8 which is otfset slightly to one side of the slot 37.

\Vhen the door leaves are in the open position indicated by dotted lines in Figure l the locking pieces and 34 fit into slots 39 and it) formed in the sill l and the upper portions of the door are held by gravity locking pieces ll which engage the upper edges of the door leaves.

From this description it will be seen that we have devised a grain door for box cars which will be absolutely grain tight and yet which will be easy to open and close, will open outward to permit of the discharge of grain and will close inward when the car is empty against the inner face of the car wall so as to assume a position which will not interfere with the use of the car for any other purpose.

Hooks 42 may be provided which are formed integral with the tubular portion 16 and upon which may be hung any suitable form of closure which will extend between the upper edges of the door leaves 17 and 18 to the top of the car to render the same grain ti ht if found desirable.

Round knobs or projections 48 and 44 may also be provided so that when the locking bar 27 is swung to the vertical position which it will assume when the door leaves 17 and 18 are in the open position it is held from rattling, the locking bar being sprung over these knobs into the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1.

What we claim as our invention is 1. In a grain door for box cars, the combination with a door frame including uprights, top plate and sill, of a boss carried by the sill adjacent each upright and having its upper face inclined inward and having a central orifice, a tubular bearing member depending from the top plate in central alignment with each of the aforesaid orifices, door leaves each provided with a cylindrical member extending upward into the tubular bearing members and cut at an incline at their lower ends corresponding to the incline of the aforesaid bosses, and projections extending downward therefrom to turnably lit the orifices of the bosses.

2. In a door locking device, the combination with the door frame having recesses formed in the bottom member at each side of the centre thereof, and a door leaf swung at each side of the opening, of a locking member pivotally mounted to each door leaf in proximity to its free edge and adapted to be crisscrossed so as to extend across the joint between the door leaves into the aforesaid recesses.

ALFRED GILLINGHAM. EDMUND BJORK. 

